🕺 Friday, Friday. I have to come down on Friday. Make it a great weekend.
Weather in Pennsylvania
☁️ Churchill | Cloudy, 52
🌤️Palmyra | Shrinking clouds, 53
🌤️ Drums | Shrinking clouds, 53
Sports PA
🏈 Eagles (8-2) | Washington 26-18 | Sun vs. LA Rams
🏈 Steelers (7-2) | Sun vs. Baltimore
🏈 Penn State (8-1) | Sat vs. Purdue
🏈 Pitt (7-2) | Sat vs. Clemson
🏈 Temple (2-7) | Saturday vs. Florida Atlantic
🏀 Sixes (2-9) | Friday vs. Orlando
🏒 Flyers (7-8-2) | Ottawa 5-4 (overtime) | Saturday vs. Buffalo
🏒 Penguins (6-9-3) | Friday vs. Columbus | Saturday vs. San Jose
🎂 Happy birthday. Cake and candles for Representatives Joshua Siegel AND Mary Louise Isaacson. Early returns for Rep. Izzy Smith-Wade-El (Saturday) i Senator Jay Costa (Sunny.)
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🗞️ Good morning, Pennsylvania. Find the latest on political events in the Keystone State with the PoliticsPA Playbook. We’ll deliver all the latest headlines in an easy-to-read format every weekday at 8am. And it’s free. Add your name to the list and sign up now.
The most essential story
1. McCormick campaign charts show the path forward
“Now that the Pennsylvania Department of State (DOS) has ordered a recount in the U.S. Senate contest, Dave McCormick campaign is developing a strategy to ensure that it maintains its advantage in the race.
When the Commonwealth’s 67 counties returned their unofficial results to DOS on Tuesday, Commonwealth Secretary Al Schmidt was obligated to call for a recount because state election law provides for a mandatory recount if the difference between candidates in the unofficial results is 0.5%. (PolitykaPA)
Elsewhere
Pennsylvania’s Senate race is now playing out in county boardrooms and a courtroom. “As Bob Casey remains in the Senate race, he is pinning his hopes on small county-level fights over disputed ballots that will allow him to close the 25,000-vote gap with Dave McCormick.” (Questioner from Philadelphia)
- Dave McCormick once fought to count undated absentee ballots. Now, in a tight race with Bob Casey, he’s suing to block them. (Inquirer)
- Dave McCormick’s campaign claims victory – again – but when is a victory a victory? (PennLive)
Pennsylvania courts are filing vote-counting lawsuits in the Senate contest heading toward a recount. “Republicans went to a Pennsylvania courthouse on Thursday over the U.S. Senate election count between Democratic Sen. Bob Casey and Republican David McCormick, as campaigns prepare for recounts and press counties for favorable counting decisions votes.” (AP)
The new driving force of identity politics is class, not race. “Americans are increasingly voting along class lines, not race lines. This could upend the way we have thought about politics for decades.” (Wall Street Journal)
Country
2. Should the Democratic Party listen to John Fetterman?
“John Fetterman he often has an uncanny feeling about which presidential candidate will win Pennsylvania.
The Democratic senator warned this Donald Trump he was stronger than ever in the days leading up to the 2024 competition. He was hopeful Joe Biden in 2020 — and again this year, even after the president’s disastrous debate. Fetterman had everyone worried Hillary Clinton also in 2016 when he said that “white male votes will decide the race.”POLICY)
Elsewhere
Ward says the election results could weigh on moderate Democrats over left-wing leaders. “The latest election did not change the balance of power in the state legislature, but Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward said the results confirm Senate Republicans’ focus on working-class issues and could influence the priorities of moderate Democrats.” (Pittsburgh Postal Newspaper)
AP House Democrats spent more than $18 million to maintain their slim majority as legislative races become more steep. “Campaign advocates behind both parties in the House and Senate have spent more than $35 million on elections as local officials try to keep pace with historic spending in high-ticket races.” (Questioner from Philadelphia)
Latino faith leader reacts to Trump’s victory in Pennsylvania. “Robert Albino, director of Latino Outreach for the Pennsylvania Family Council and a religious leader in Bethlehem, told The Center Square that he believes the most significant result of this election is the growing strength of the Latino vote, which should not be ignored or taken for granted.” (Central Square)
Latino Republicans, empowered by elections, are creating a modern political power in Pennsylvania. “The 2024 election cycle will see the debut of several significant entries into the Latino conservative sphere of the Commonwealth.” (City and state)
Around the Republic of Poland
3. Main street of Reorientacja
“The Old Highway tells the story of Pennsylvania’s historic rebuilding, years in the making and cemented last Tuesday when Republicans captured every statewide elected office for the first time since 1980 – from U.S. President and Senate to rank-and-file offices.
The nearly century-old Route 309 begins around the northeastern Wyoming Valley, runs through Luzerne County, then past the Blue Mountain ridge and into the Lehigh Valley, where it passes Pennsylvania Dutch communities and enters Bucks County on the outskirts of Philadelphia before ending in the state’s largest city.
It wasn’t that long ago that Route 309 covered the blue wall regions of the Democratic Commonwealth. But last week, amid a dramatic red shift accelerated by demographic changes unlikely even in 2016, the areas around Route 309 emerged as the most crucial for Donald Trump victory in Pennsylvania, a key element of his victory in the White House Kamala Harris” (City Journal)
Elsewhere
Allentown’s mayor touts “tremendous progress” as he announces his re-election bid. “Allentown Mayor Matt Tuerk is seeking a second term. It has long been expected – and reported – that Tuerk would seek another four years in the city’s top job, but he made it official on Thursday evening at the Da Vinci Science Center.” (LehighValleyNews.com)
Where Trump did and didn’t get votes in Philadelphia. “Pennsylvania is a swing state, but Philadelphia is by no means a swing county. While trends have changed in the commonwealth over the past four election cycles, its largest city has not voted for a Republican president since 1932.” (Wide + Freedom)
The turbocharged Republican candidate who flipped Northeast Philadelphia’s Senate seat — without aid from local leaders. “29-year-old Joe Picozzi won a seat the Philadelphia GOP never intended to flip.” (Billy Penn)
‘The fear has probably doubled’: Pennsylvania town with vast Haitian population awaits Trump’s moves. “It is too early to tell whether Trump’s promise to deport Haitians currently under Temporary Protected Status will come true. But in the meantime, Charleroi continues to feel the effects of its remarks about the immigrant community, as well as its KKK leaflets and white supremacist stickers.” (PennLive)
- The Trump administration’s mass deportation plan will hurt Pennsylvania, immigrant advocates warn. (Penn Capital Star)
By the numbers: Minor voting errors, county security procedures led to election day mishap. “Placed between blocks of computer ‘timing’ code, seven tiny digits lie in the left margin of the Election Day ballots that Cambria County finally began scanning to tally the results on November 5.” (Johnstown Tribune-Democrat)
Editorial
4. What do you mean
- 9 women on why America still doesn’t have a woman president. (POLICY)
- Nostalgia or a dusty pink hat won’t save us from a second Trump presidency. (Helena Ubinas)
- Our choices reflect our values. (Barry N. Bishop)
- Trump’s recess appointment agenda. (Wall Street Journal)
- Why are the 2024 election winners so… crazy? (Lauren McCutcheon)
- For Pennsylvania to recover from the opioid crisis, we must work together. (Senator Greg Rothman)
1 item
5. How to approach the holidays with people you deeply disagree with
“On this week’s episode of Code Switch, we talked to a young woman who on Election Day said, ‘I’m disgusted by the blood in my veins because I’m related to these people.’ By “those people” she meant her relatives who supported a presidential candidate she found disgusting. She then added that to support said candidate, “you have to be a higher-level fool or a higher-level evil.”
These words reflect a phrase that has been repeated for years about the pain and great frustration when you see people you love making decisions you hate. So what do we do about it?” (WQLN)
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